Raspberry Pi Diagram

For those of you who don’t know, the Raspberry Pi is a “credit-card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard.”   While “underpowered” compared to full sized traditional computers, there are some ground-breaking distinctions.  The Raspberry Pi Model B comes as a small computer motherboard with RCA video, audio, HDMI, LAN, two USB connections, and a small USB micro power connector on board – all for just $35.¹

After reading a review and setup guide article on the Raspberry Pi I couldn’t help but thinking back to a news piece about students working on a modular laptop that could easily be disassembled, repaired, and recycled by users without the use of any tools.  With a few minor changes, a Raspberry Pi could be easily adapted for use in a modular laptop.  As one MakerBot commentor, Scott Watkins noted, “A compact motherboard like that is really all that’s needed to make [the modular laptop] dream a reality.”

Between the just-released open source Raspberry Pi and printable Raspberry Pi cases on Thingiverse, there’s nothing to stop you from creating their very own custom laptop.  All it would really take to create your very own laptop would be a USB hub, a USB keyboard, USB LCD monitor, power supply and/or battery pack, connectors, and a 3D printed case to hold it all in.  I’d be willing to bet all the parts could be sourced for less than $250 plus a 3D printed case.

1. The Model A has only one USB port and no LAN ethernet port for $25! [↩]

Sugar On A Stick Custom Case by kristianpaul

I rather like flash drives.  Whenever I go to a conference or convention, I eschew those silly useless knickknacks like tri-color highlighters, flashy LED cufflinks¹ , and nylon bags for holding more useless knickknacks.  Flash drives, on the other hand, I’ll let you bend my ear for a few minutes so that you’ll offer me a 256 MB flash drive. ²

One of the great things about give-away flash drives is that they usually have modest space anywhere from 256 MB to 1 GB or so.  A small flash drive is good loaning to someone – without having to worry about whether you’ll get it back.  It’s good for a small Ubuntu Boot drive, small utility drive with recovery software, or the Tor Firefox Browser bundle.

The other great thing about these freebies is that they are poorly enclosed. Some you can pop open with a paperclip, precision screwdriver, or even a fingernail.  When done, you’re left with the naked electronic USB flash drive without any of that annoying or silly branding.

At the last conference I attended I snagged several such small drives.  After cracking the cases open I realized I could build a better flash drive enclosure using my 3D printer.  This isn’t exactly a new idea, Kristian Paul designed a custom USB flash drive case about nine months ago.  I can’t tell from the pictures, but it looks like he’s using his custom case to enclose a complete flash drive, rather than just the electronics.

So, if the world were your oyster and you could have a flash drive in ANY shape imaginable, what shape would it be?

1. Seriously, I saw these at the last one. [↩]
2. I fully realize these are probably only worth about $2 and that I may have a drawer full of them at home. [↩]